Little or no personal space, too hot or cold and having to stand for large periods of time – if you regularly use the train to commute into work, then chances are you’ll be more than familiar with these experiences.
If you can relate to having to race for the last seat on the train, or having to grab hold of a complete stranger in an attempt to stay upright when it stops suddenly, then you’ve also probably found yourself asking at some point why you put yourself through it?
A recent infographic by Buzz Conferencing revealed that some rail services are up to 60 per cent over capacity – making for an uncomfortable ride and raising the question once again as to what can be done to make things a little bit more bearable.
Take the London Underground for example – approximately 3.5 million people use the tube every day, which is the equivalent to around half of the capital’s population. It’s no surprise that one in five have to spend their journey standing up, even though they’ve paid for a seat.
While Transport for London does plan to introduce air conditioning for the underground by 2016, this doesn’t help those who use the service over the next two years and only adds to that feeling of discomfort.
The problem is further impacted by the fact that last summer, some train speeds were reduced to just 32 km per hour during the heatwave. In comparison, the usual average pace is between 85 and 125 km per hour – resulting in long delays in hot carriages.
